This past week in class, we watched the movie Erin Brockovich. The movie is a true story about a single mother of 3 children without a college degree, who was able to work her way up a law firm and take on a case surrounding the well-being of an entire town’s population, against an extremely successful corporation. The second half of the week was spent in preparation for our final project, which included a final paper and presentation. My group researched and discussed social media’s negative effects on teenagers. My team members, Le Yang and Kat Bazarko, gave our presentation to the class this Monday, July 3rd. 

 

The last week at my internship was pretty jam-packed, but still fun. This week, I finished my research on potential donors/partners. Then I spent time creating individual emails tailored to the unique goals of each organization, asking for their support in our upcoming project. I also went to an event called Innovation Day, which was a day filled with speakers from all over the world presenting their projects. On my last day of the internship, I was given some presents from the organization, which was super nice. The bakery next door also left me with a bag of sweets. I am really glad I was able to make such strong connections with these employees and the workers at the bakery. 

 

Since it is the last week, I tried my best to involve myself in everything I hadn’t seen yet. I went to the Teatro alla Scala and saw the opera Macbeth. I also went inside the Duomo for the very first time, which was super exciting. I had the amazing opportunity to spend my last weekend with my classmates. We rented an Airbnb in Tuscany, and spent Friday afternoon and Saturday with each other in the villa! On Sunday, we explored Florence some more and had a huge group dinner at ZaZa. I still believe that Florence has the best food out of every place I have visited!

This week in class, I presented my Wall Street Journal to the class. The article was about Cloud Seeding, which is used to increase precipitation by injecting chemicals into clouds right before rainfall. This led the class into a debate about how much we as humans should be able to control the natural processes of the earth, and if these chemicals or other solutions could have negative consequences in the future. On Wednesday, we discussed themes from an Apple Case Study. My team was chosen to debate the morality of Apple against another team. For 10 minutes, we debated whether Apple should be responsible for upholding the same ethical standards across the board or if they should change from country to country. 

 

The rough draft for the main project I am working on this summer was due on Wednesday this week at my internship. On Wednesday morning, I presented potential foundations and other organizations that we could contact to donate for our specific project in mind. These organizations were mainly US based, but included Kenyan companies proximal to our organization’s orphanage. In addition to this, I created and finished the organization’s official slides for this project, as well as a supplementary summary pdf. Throughout the week I was given additional tasks, such as recording more informational videos or answering questions emailed to the company in English. 

 

This past weekend, a few classmates and I traveled to Paris! Although I was warned about French stereotypes (such as their dislike toward Americans), the locals I met were very nice. During the week, we toured the Louvre, saw the Mona Lisa, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacré-Coeur, and the Arc de Triomphe. This current weekend, I traveled to Monopoli, Puglia! This is a beach vacation destination that looks exactly like Greece. I spent this weekend on the beach, cliff jumping, exploring the local town, and trying traditional puglia food – such as Taralli (circular breadsticks), local fish dishes, and Orecchiette (“ear pasta”). 

This week at Alice for Children, I started to work on a new project for the organization. They are starting up a new program called Alice Digital, a digital literacy computer/tablet course for secondary students in the Dandora high school. Before this project, Alice for Children mainly operated on primary schools and orphanages for education (not including their culinary arts academy). The project is fairly new. I spent the past week researching potential donors to help fund this project, as well as translate their main documents for the project into English (make a project description doc, budget, etc). When researching, we found an organization that donates computers. I drafted an email with the project description doc, the translated organization’s main slides, and the video with the voice over I made the previous week and sent it to a staff member in Kenya to deliver. The organization wrote back immediately, and we are meeting with them soon to discuss potential donations and trainings for this project! 

 

This week in class, we watched the movie “Civil Action” based on a true story. It was a very engaging movie about an injury attorney who risks his entire career for one case: going against major corporations who diluted a towns tap water, leading to the deaths of several local children. We also discussed the validity of BRT’s 2019 stakeholder agreement. There was a debate in class, one team being for the validity, the other arguing that the document holds no value. When the debate was open to everyone, I brought information from my past Wall Street Journal assignment. I argued that the report held no value, as companies whose CEOs signed the report had recently voted against carbon reduction plans in their upcoming projects. 

 

I began last Sunday with a day trip to Florence with some classmates. We made sure to check out all of the restaurants that became viral on TikTok, including a bar that serves drinks through an open window in the street. Although the statue of David was cool, I would have to say the best part of the trip was our dinner. We tried the “best steak in Florence” at a restaurant called ZaZa, which was easily the best food I have had this summer. In Milan, I continued to eat the best gelato ever at Gelato Fatto Con Amore, getting dark chocolate orange yet again. I also tried Italy’s version of an iced coffee, which is more like frozen coffee and tasted amazing.

This week in class, we watched a documentary titled, “The Corporation” on Monday, and discussed some of the topics within the film. The documentary showed evidence that corporations could be labeled as psychopaths based on the DSM-5 criteria. The documentary mentioned many instances in which corporations had abused all forms of life, from the air we breathe to the water we use, to the people themselves. I found it interesting that these companies supported and funded the film’s production while knowing they were being slandered in the process. On Wednesday, we debated several topics from the Wall Street Journal. For example, Tiffany Chen’s article on the inflation reduction act and drug negotiation program allowed the class to debate whether companies should be allowed to set a price on the drugs they produce.

During this week at my internship, I recorded a voice-over for a video overview of my organization. On Friday, I was given my first real project in the company. Alice for Children is starting a new program. They are opening a secondary school (high school) in Dandora with a specialty training program in digital learning. I’m very excited to see how I can help them improve this project within the next couple of weeks. I was also given the opportunity to view photos and videos taken from the all-female soccer club in Nairobi, created by AC Milan and Puma. I got to see the girls playing in cleats, socks, and other equipment I packed myself a couple weeks prior.

This week in Italy, I had the opportunity to travel. Last Sunday, I took a trip to Venice and went on a gondola ride. That night, I went straight from the train station to an AC Milan game! I got to experience an amazing game, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s retirement ceremony. This Friday I went to a cooking class where I learned how to make traditional Neapolitan pizza and homemade vanilla gelato. Not to brag, but the pizza I made was the best pizza I’ve had so far. This Saturday the class got to travel to the Alps. We went on a super fun ropes course, and I swam in Lake D’arpy (it was freezing).

 

Internship:

This week at my internship, Alice for Children, I attended a CSR event with Apple. I had the opportunity to help out during the event, and met the top manager in Milan! I spent the rest of this week translating parts of Alice for Children’s website into English. I also translated one of their videos into English and will do a voice-over for it this Monday! I have grown much closer with the employees in the office, and enjoy our lunch/coffee breaks. I am also becoming closer with the employees at the patisserie across the street, who have learned my name. We try to keep a conversation, but they know little English, and I know less Italian. Both the bakery and the office have been trying to teach me new words each day, which is fun.

 

Class:

This week in class we had several debates about real-world topics. On Monday, teams debated whether banks should collect interest from home mortgages, and if banks should be held accountable for scams. These debates were very engaging and allowed us to work together in groups for the first time. In addition to these, we also discussed articles from the Wall Street Journal at the beginning of each class. For example, this week Sachi Williams talked about the state of Montana banning TikTok this upcoming year. From this, we debated concerns for national security, free speech, and federal versus state power. Next week, Professor Gupta said we will be watching a documentary that will make us not want to drink milk again. I hope I finish off my milk carton before this time. 

 

Milan:

This week in Italy, the class got to travel to two different places: Lake Maggiore and Verona. In Lake Maggiore, we visited three beautiful islands, saw a white peacock, and got some great pictures! In Verona, we had a nice wine tasting and a tour of the city. During the tour, we performed “Love Story” by Taylor Swift in the Verona Arena, featuring Jimmy Littley. We also got to see Juliet’s famous balcony and try some delicious macarons. In Milan, I am happy to report that I can travel to and from my workplace without using Apple Maps. I have tried more variations of pizza and pasta and decided I prefer Italian coffee over American. In addition to this, I only order cafe and gelato in Italian!

 

For the first week of class, we watched a documentary on Adam Smith and took a field trip to Circularity, a business in Milan. The documentary discussed Adam Smith’s most famous novels “The Wealth of Nations” and “The Theory of Mortal Sentiments”, and how they were applied/have shaped society today. I think it is really interesting to see how much Smith has had a lasting impact on society, culture, economies, and businesses. On the field trip, we learned what Circularity is (an economy that runs from production to use to recycling). I have only been in Milan for five days, but I can already see how much the city cares about the planet’s health. They are very environmentally conscious, I have run into several accounts where corrections were made to someone about what to do with plastic, or what gets recycled. As an example, yesterday I was at a cafe. One of my classmates threw out their plastic water bottle. An employee from the bar took the bottle out of the trash and made sure the barista across the counter put it in the recycling bin. This sort of transaction would not take place in the US. 

 

This week I started my internship on Thursday. I am working for an NGO called Alice for Children. They mainly support children, women, and families in the Nairobi slums (Kenya). The organization has been running since 2006, and they have started many projects such as long-distance adoption, culinary school (college), primary school programs, secondary school programs, a school of music, daycare facilities for mothers to have the opportunity to continue their education, and much more that I have yet to learn about. Today (Friday) was World Menstrual Hygiene Day. Alice for Children was given a table at the festival in Milan celebrating this day, and I got to help out! We raised awareness and money that will be used to provide young girls in Nairobi with menstrual products.

 

For the first week of Milan, I tried my hardest to a: defeat my jetlag, and b: be able to get around the city’s public transportation system without getting completely lost. While I still walk the wrong way down the street sometimes, I have pretty much figured out the Metro system, and I know how to get from the Aparto to my internship office to Professor Gupta’s class 🙂. I still think it is unreal that I have to walk across the Duomo on my route to the office. Our class had two Italian survival lessons this week where we had the opportunity to learn some basic Italian. After these classes, I have been attempting to communicate when I can in Italian, and can confidently order breakfast in cafes!